A Cyclone
by Eurydice
Summary: A new friend clashes with a new foe, with a surprise in store for Darrien!
1. Default Chapter Title

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Disclaimer: The Scouts and their counterparts, Luna and Artemis, Darrien / Tuxedo Mask, Beryl, and Diamond? None of them belong to me, but you knew that already. However, Ahna and her alter-ego, Terra, Taliment, Haiya, Harvok, and Gehen DO belong to me. So there. If you'd like to see a picture of Ahna's alter-ego, drop me a line at OrpheusEurydice@netscape.net Enjoy!

The wind started to pick up as Amy, Serena, and Lita sat outside beneath a tall tree. Their lunches were spread in front of them on the grass, and while Amy and Lita ate slowly, Serena was of course shoving food into her mouth as fast as she could. "I'm so hungry, you guys," she said, coming up for air. "I had to skip breakfast this morning."

"Why don't you try waking up earlier, Serena?" asked Amy. "That way, you'd have time to eat and you'd be on time for school."

Serena scowled at her. "I tried that already, Amy. My alarm clock doesn't work."

"So get a new one," said Lita, and winked. "It couldn't hurt."

Rather than answer, Serena just kept eating. Lita rolled her eyes and leaned against the tree, breathing the fresh air deeply. It was a gorgeous day, even if it was a little windy. "Hey guys," she said suddenly, "have any of you talked to that new girl?"

"No," said Serena. Then she frowned. "Wait a sec. What new girl?"

"The one that Miss Haruna introduced this morning… what was her name, Amy? I can't remember."

"Neither can I," admitted Amy sheepishly. "I should know, though. She's in my Advanced Statistical Analysis class; in fact, she sits right behind me. She's very smart."

"Not another one," groaned Serena. 

"Excuse me," said a voice. It seemed like it was coming from the tree. Then, a head poked out from behind it, smiling shyly at the girls. "Can I sit here?"

"Yeah, go right ahead," said Lita with an amiable smile. "I can't remember your name… is it Anna?"

"Ahna, actually," said the girl, sitting down. The breeze ruffled her thick, chin-length hair and her skirt. "And you're Lita, Amy, and Serena."

"That's right," said Amy. "How did you know our names?"

"Melvin told me about you," said Ahna. Her light, musical voice changed into one that was uncannily like Melvin's. "'Amy's the smart one, she's in the head of the class. Lita's the big strong one, and Serena's the clumsy meatball head.'" 

"Hey!" said Serena indignantly.  


"Oh, oops," said Ahna, reddening. "Sorry. That's just what he said."

Amy studied Ahna's earnest face with a puzzled frown. "I hope this isn't too rude of me," she said, "but aren't you awfully old to be going to this school? You certainly look older than any of us." She gestured to the other two girls.

Ahna laughed gently. "I guess none of you were paying attention this morning," she replied, her tone lightly teasing. "I'm not actually a student here. I'm… well, I'm taking a year off from classes, so I can observe and mentor. I want to be a teacher, you see, so I like to see different techniques. Miss Haruna and Mr. Jones are being nice enough to let me sit in on their classes."

"Oh," said Serena. "Then, why aren't you eating lunch with them? No offense, of course."

"None taken," said Ahna evenly. "Actually, most of my friends are your age. I just seem to get along with you guys better." She shrugged and took a bite of lunch. 

They passed the time in an affable silence until the bell rang again.

***

After school let out, Rei and Mina met Serena, Lita, and Amy in front of their school. Luna and Artemis stood with them, purring. Ahna stood shyly behind Lita, smiling pleasantly, until Mina asked, "Hey, guys, are you going to introduce me or not?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Amy. "I'm sorry. Ahna, this is Mina, and this is Rei."

"Pleased to meet you," said Ahna.

"Where do you live?" asked Rei.

Ahna turned and pointed behind her. "Back that way," she said. "Are you going the other direction?"

"I'll walk with you," said Serena cheerfully.

"Serena," Rei said under her breath, "we have temple business. Remember?" 

"Oh, lighten up, Rei," said Serena, still cheerful. She scooped Luna up and put the cat over her shoulder. "Luna and I'll meet you at the temple in a few minutes. Come on, Ahna."

As girls and cat disappeared over the hill, Rei stood for a moment, her fists planted firmly on her hips. "That girl is too friendly for her own good."

"Give her a break, Rei," said Lita with a good-natured smile. Then, lowering her voice, "We haven't had any real Scout business in over a month. I think the meeting can wait a half-hour or so."

Amy smiled. "You'll like Ahna, Rei," she said. "She reminds me a little of Greg." She blushed and scratched the back of her neck, and looked at the ground as if she found it suddenly fascinating. "Did I tell you guys that I talked to him yesterday?"

"No!" said Mina, pouncing on the gossip. They headed toward the temple, Serena and Ahna temporarily forgotten.

***

"So, your cat's name is Luna?"

Serena blinked and looked up at Ahna. "Yeah," she said, and scratched Luna between the ears. "She's my cutie widdle kitty-kitty." She started cooing to Luna in a way she knew the cat hated.

"I have a cat," said Ahna. "Her name is Terra. Sometimes I think she's smarter than I am, you know?"

Serena laughed. "Luna thinks she's smarter than I am," she said, "my silly widdle sweetie kitty." Luna had to contain herself from rolling her eyes. _Oh, brother_, she thought.

There was a pause. "Your friends seem nice," Ahna said after a moment. "I hope I get to meet them more."

"Oh, you will," said Serena. "If you hang out with me and Lita and Amy, you'll get to know Mina and Rei, too. We're buds. We always hang together."

Ahna stopped abruptly before a familiar high-rise building. "This is where I live," she said. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No prob - whoa, you live here? This is where Darrien lives!"

Ahna brightened. "Oh, so you're _that_ Serena!"

Serena blinked in surprise, feeling automatically territorial. "You know Darrien?"

"He was the first person I met when I moved in here," said Ahna. "I live two floors above him. He's a great guy, very helpful."

"He sure is," said Serena, still wary. Ahna laughed again.

"I feel like I know you," she said. "Darrien talks about you all the time. He seems to be quite under your spell, if you catch my drift." She winked.

"That's… funny, he's never mentioned you," said Serena, slightly appeased.

"I'm not surprised," said Ahna. "I just moved in a week ago, but since then I've talked to Darrien almost every day. He's told me all about you, about the city, about everything. Probably he's just forgotten about me." She looked up to the building again. "I'd invite you in, but my place is still a mess. Maybe someday after school, you and Darrien and I should meet for a milkshake or something."

"That could be fun," said Serena. She waved and started away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ahna!"

A minute later, Luna asked, "Did something about her seem… well, odd to you?"

"Odd?" asked Serena. She thought for a minute. "No, not really. I thought it was weird that someone her age would like to hang with someone my age, but I guess that's not too weird. I mean, look at Darrien and me."

"Yes…" said Luna, but she sounded troubled. "Maybe you should talk to Darrien about her. Maybe he's noticed something. He knows her better than any of us do." She looked at Serena witheringly. "And Serena, please don't call me your 'sweetie widdle cutie kitty.' It's so embarrassing."

"Sorry, Luna," said Serena, not apologetic at all.

"Hey!" called a voice from behind them. "Serena!"

She turned to see Darrien waving at her. With a huge smile, Serena waved back, and waited for him to catch up. "Hey, Darrien," she said. "I'm going to the temple, where are you off to?"

Darrien shrugged. "I saw you walking this way," he said. "I just figured I'd walk with you till you got where you were going. Hey, Luna." He scratched the cat between the ears, and she purred.

"Darrien," said Luna, "there's a new girl in your building. Ahna. She says she's met you."

He puzzled for a moment. Then, recognition dawned. "Yeah, Ahna. Why do you ask?"

"Have you noticed anything unusual about her?"

Darrien looked at the ground, biting his lower lip. There was something in the gesture that made Serena curious, but she said nothing. After a moment, he responded, "No, not really. Unusual how?"

"Well, I can't quite put my paw on it," said Luna. "There's just something strange about 

her that I can't seem to pinpoint."

"I'll tell you if I notice anything," Darrien assured them.

***

He huddled over the controls, his long, thin hands lightly dancing over them. He was almost finished…

"Taliment!"

With an exasperated sigh, Taliment straightened up and ran a hand through his thick, red hair. "I'm nearly finished, Empress."

There was a pause. "Can you hurry it up at all?"

Taliment didn't answer. He twisted a knob here, punched a few numbers there… and there she was. On the screen in front of him, sitting calmly. She looked different, but… no, it was definitely her. "I've found her, Empress!"

"Good!" the disembodied voice proclaimed. "My, she'll be perfect, won't she?"

"I hope so," said Taliment. "Now, to pinpoint her exact location." He went to work again. He knew her approximate vicinity, but if he was able to find precisely where she was, keeping track of her would be much easier. Slightly irritated, he said, "Your Majesty, I can't work when you're looking over my shoulder."

"I apologize, Taliment," said the voice, slightly miffed. He sensed her withdrawing, and guessed that, had she a body, she would have stalked across the room and sat pouting by the doorway. For an Empress, she was remarkably immature. But no matter. Years of searching and traveling were about to pay off.

***

Lita walked unhurriedly along the path through the park, humming quietly to herself. The wind urged her along playfully, teasing at her ears and hair. It was wonderful to be by herself; Lita loved to be with her friends, but she also liked to have some time alone. Just as she was about to turn around and head home, she saw Ahna kneeling by the edge of a copse of trees, picking flowers. Lita raised a hand and started to shout a greeting, but all of a sudden a cold, fierce wind blew by her. A man walked out of the trees and stood by Ahna, and, curious, Lita ducked behind a tree and walked the interaction.

He was tall, redheaded, fair-skinned. When he spoke, his voice was low but powerful. "Ahna Cosgrove?"

Ahna stood, and to Lita it looked like she shivered. "That's me," she said. "Who are you?"

"Come with me, Ahna," said the man, smiling gently. "There's someone I want you to meet." He put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and glared at him.

"I'm afraid I'm not going anywhere until you tell me who you are," she replied politely.

A small, orange cat came bounding from the trees, coming to rest some ten feet away from the two. "Ahna!" it said, surprising Lita significantly, but much less than it might have surprised anyone else. "He's dangerous!"

"I believe you, Terra," replied Ahna, backing up slowly.

"I'm not dangerous," said the man. "At least, I won't be if you cooperate."

Ahna backed up even more, and as the man advanced on her, Lita got the feeling that he _was_ dangerous, very dangerous. She looked up to the sky and said, quietly, "Jupiter star power!" 

After transforming, Jupiter ran around the tree and headed straight for Ahna and the strange redheaded man. "Hey, you!" she called. He turned to her, and when he saw her he recoiled in surprise. Ahna, Jupiter noticed, was totally unemotive. "Leave her alone!"

"Who are you?" asked the man, not moving.

_Here we go_, thought Jupiter, fighting an urge to roll her eyes. Normally the flowery speeches were left up to Sailor Moon, but she wasn't there. Planting her fist on her hips, she said, "I fight for justice and against evil. You aren't wanted here, Mister, so leave her alone!" Pointing at him, she pronounced, "I am Sailor Jupiter!"

The man looked confused. "Who?" he asked.

This wasn't the reaction Jupiter was hoping for. Nevertheless, she took a tentative step forward. This seemed to provoke no reaction, so she took another step. Suddenly, another cold blast of air hit her, so powerfully that it drove her back against a tree. Jupiter fell to her knees, the breath knocked out of her, and she struggled to her feet again. "Who did that?" she demanded.

A sinister laugh sounded from in front of Jupiter, but there was no one to go with it. "Kill 

the green one, Taliment," the voice said. Then, almost as an afterthought, "The cat, too."

The man shrugged and said, "As you wish, Your Majesty." He held out a fist, and Jupiter was hurled violently backward again, hitting her head against the tree. 

She sagged to the grass, and as she struggled to her feet she heard the cat exclaim, "Ahna! Transform!"

_What_? Jupiter thought wildly_. Transform? Is she a_ - 

Ahna raised her hand in the air and called out, "Polaris star power!"

There was a bright flash of light, and Jupiter threw her arm up to shield her face. After what seemed like an eternity, though really it was little more than a second, the brilliance subsided and standing in Ahna's place was… well, Ahna. She was wearing a black and white Scout uniform, and her black boots reached to her knees. There was a black staff in her right hand, thin and made out of metal. "Who are you?" breathed Jupiter, though she had a pretty good idea.

"Introductions will have to wait," said the Scout, swinging the staff at the man. It caught him in the stomach, doubling him over, and then over the shoulders. There was that sinister laugh again, and the staff was unexpectedly wrenched from her grip and flung several yards away.

"Aww, poor little girl," said the voice in an obscene parody of sympathy. "Whatcha gonna do now that your little toy's gone?"

"This!" exclaimed Jupiter. She crossed her arms above her head and brought them down, concentrating within her. Electricity crackled in the air around her. The hair on the back of Jupiter's neck stood on end. "Jupiter… thunder… _crash_!" A tremendous rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins as the energy was released, catching the man just as he lunged for the new, bewildering Scout. He cried out in pain and surprise. 

Jupiter didn't have much time to be pleased with herself. She was driven backward again by an unseen force, stronger than anything she had ever imagined. "Sailor… whoever you are," she yelled, "help!"

"Here!" cried the Scout, tossing her the newly-recovered staff. "Use this!"

Jupiter swung it around blindly without much effect. "How am I supposed to fight something that I can't see?"

"Grab hold of something!" said the Scout. "Hang on tight!"

Jupiter took hold of a tree and wrapped her arms around it, hard to do because of the relentless pummelling of her arms, legs and face by whatever it was. The Scout held her arms out as if she were expecting a hug from Jupiter, her fingers splayed. "Polaris… windstorm…" she intoned, then brought her hands together abruptly, clasping her fingers together, "_blow_!"

Wind rushed past Jupiter's ears, shrieking and howling, hot and dusty, burning her face. She wrapped her arms around the tree more firmly, then one of her legs as well; it was taking all of her strength to hang onto both the tree and the staff. There was a brief scream that was all but lost in the wailing wind... and when it let up, the force surrounding Jupiter was gone. She released both tree and staff and started to walk to the Scout, and that was when the redheaded man stood quickly up and kicked her (the mysterious Scout, not Jupiter) in the stomach.

_Oh, man_, thought Jupiter, and started to run. 

Out of the blue, a rose flew through the air, its stem slicing across the man's forehead. He staggered back, and he and Jupiter looked in the direction he had come. Standing there in a tree branch, was, of course, Tuxedo Mask. "A gentleman should always know when he's not wanted," he announced. "You have overstayed your welcome. Next time, try picking on someone your own size." (Jupiter thought about pointing out that the new Scout was at least as tall as their attacker, but decided that it was an inopportune time.)

The man wiped the blood off his forehead and looked from Tuxedo Mask to Jupiter to the unknown Scout, and mumbled, "Three against one. I don't like those odds." He looked directly at Jupiter and said, "I'll be back, miss Jupiter, you can count on that." With that, the air shimmered and wavered in front of him and he disappeared.

"Whew," said Jupiter, sitting in the grass. "What was that all about?"

Tuxedo Mask jumped from the tree and landed in front of her. "I don't know," he said softly, looking at the Scout.

The one who had been Ahna went silently to the tree and picked up the staff, then turned. "My name is Sailor Polaris," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sailor Jupiter." She smiled at Tuxedo Mask, who smiled back. Jupiter was confounded.

"A new Sailor Scout?" she asked. "Why didn't Luna tell us about you? Or Artemis?"

"They didn't know," said the cat, who was now sitting comfortably on her haunches. "Or, they did, but they didn't know who she was or when she would show up. I was entrusted with her."

Jupiter looked at Polaris with shining eyes. "This is amazing," she said. "You have to meet the other Scouts right away."

"I look forward to it," said Polaris. "I have a story to tell."

"We want to hear it," said Jupiter, reaching into a hidden pocket of her skirt for her communicator. "Tuxedo Mask," she said authoritatively, "this concerns you, too."

He looked surprised, even beneath the mask, but merely nodded.

***

"Taliment!"

He sighed inwardly, knowing what he was in for. Empress Haiya would not be pleased with this afternoon's confrontation. Truth to tell, he wasn't pleased with himself either; letting himself be defeated by two extremely vicious young girls and a strange man in a tuxedo. His forehead still stung from the blow it had received (from a rose, no less), and the rest of him didn't feel so great either. He'd been fried, smashed several times, and sliced. There was no sweet triumph that he had thought would come so easily; instead, only the bitter taste of defeat. 

"Yes, Your Majesty?" he asked reluctantly.

There was no response for a moment, and Taliment thought for a moment that she was no longer there. Then the voice, sharp and sarcastic. "Well, that went marvellously, don't you agree?"

Taliment didn't answer. "I've never been so humiliated in my entire life," the Empress continued, "being blown for hundreds and hundreds of yards, and coming to rest in the middle of an intersection! It was more frightening than when I lost my body! All these shrieking vehicles running towards me, honking their horns…" She paused for a moment to calm herself. "And you," she finally said. "You were wonderful. Couldn't just grab Miss Ahna and take her with us. You had to take the nice 'oh-won't-you-please-cooperate' approach."

"Your Majesty," Taliment said, "permission to speak in my defense?"

"Fine," grumped Empress Haiya.

"Had I any idea that that Sailor Jupiter character would show up, I would have taken a much different approach. I knew there was something special about Ahna, but I'd no idea she was one of those 'Sailors' as well. Today was the first day I've heard of them."

The Empress sighed. "I know, Taliment," she said finally. "We'll have to be more careful from now on. Who knows how many Sailors there might be?"

Taliment hadn't thought of that. "I hope there's just the two, Your Majesty," he said. "We might have to call in reinforcements if there are any more."

"I leave it to you," said Haiya. There was a long pause, and when she spoke again her voice came from across the room. "I was so pretty when I had a body," she said wistfully.

Taliment crossed to the sound of her voice, in front of a large portrait. It was of a short but stately woman with pale skin and lavender hair that flowed to the ground. Her eyes were golden and piercing, and her smile showed a lot of teeth. "Yes," he answered, "the most beautiful woman in the kingdom."

"You really think so?" asked Haiya, and had she a face it would have blushed.

"Of course," said Taliment, trying to appease her. 

"Do you think Ahna is prettier than me?"

Taliment chose his words carefully. "Not yet," he said simply. "When you're finished with her, we'll see."

That seemed to be sufficient.

***

"What's this all about, Li- hey, whoa, what's she doing here?" asked Serena, a bit less tactfully than she would have liked. "And Darrien, too? I mean, Ahna, it's not like we don't want you around, but-"

Lita cut her off, waving a hand impatiently. "She's one of us," she said. She looked around to make sure there was no one nearby, then lowered her voice and added, "She's a Sailor Scout."

"What?" asked everyone simultaneously. Luna and Artemis merely sat around and looked semi-surprised.

"That's right," said the small orange cat, stepping in front of Ahna. "My name is Terra. Luna, Artemis, I've heard about you. I must say you've done a fabulous job training these girls… or, this one at least." She rubbed against Lita's leg. "She's the only one I've seen in action so far."

"What are you talking about?" asked Mina.

Darrien sat on the temple stairs, resting his elbows on his knees. "Some strange man came after Ahna today. In the park."

Amy looked at her in concern. "Are you all right? Did you know who he was?"

Ahna shook her head. "No. Someone called him Taliment, so I would assume that was his name."

"Who called him that?" asked Rei.

"A voice," said Lita, taking a seat on the stairs. "Just… a voice. There was no one to go with it, though. And then it attacked me."

"The voice," said Serena skeptically. "How can a voice attack?"

"Well," said Rei sardonically, "when it's a voice like yours, it starts by blowing out the eardrums."

Ahna looked alarmed. "Wasn't that a little harsh, Rei?"

"Never mind," said Serena, shooting daggers at Rei with her eyes. Rei, for her part, acted oblivious. "Who did the voice belong to?"

Lita and Ahna shrugged. "When Tuxedo Mask showed up… is that right? Is that your name?" asked Ahna, looking at Darrien for confirmation. He nodded. "Well, when Tuxedo Mask showed up, the man - Taliment - decided he didn't want to fight three against one, so he disappeared."

"Wait a sec," said Rei, standing up and waving her hands. "Hang on, we're just supposed to take it on faith that you're a Scout?"

Lita looked stung. "Rei, I saw her. She transformed right in front of me!"

"Then she won't hesitate to do it again," said Rei, looking pointedly at Ahna.

Lita was about to protest, but Ahna held up a hand. "Don't worry, Lita," she said with a smile. "I don't mind. She has a valid point." They walked into the empty temple, and Mina and Amy closed the doors behind them. Ahna went through the ritual again, and there was a flash of light, less blinding than Lita remembered it. A gasp issued from the other four girls, as well as Luna and Artemis. Lita peered into the light, and she saw Sailor Polaris standing in place of Ahna. As the light subsided, Polaris held her arm out to the side and the staff appeared in her hand. "Sailor Polaris, at your service," she said with a smile, looking directly at Rei.

"Oh, this is so cool!" exclaimed Serena. "Sailor Polaris! Wow! Say, what's that?" She pointed at the staff. 

"A staff," said Polaris. "I hit people with it."

"Oh, wow!"

Amy looked troubled. "I believe that you're a Scout," she said quietly. "But in all of our experiences, I don't remember you from the Moon Kingdom."

"That's because I'm not from the moon," Polaris replied. "I have never been to the Moon, even in the past. I'm from the Earth."

"The Earth?" asked Darrien, startled.

"When I was very young," Polaris said, sitting down on the floor and gesturing for the others to follow, "I was taken away from Earth and raised as the Princess of Polaris. I was trained in the royal way, but mostly I was trained for battle. I knew that one day I would return to Earth and fight in a war; there was a small but powerful group of malcontents, and there were rumors of a military coup or a revolution. When the battle with the Negamoon family arose, I went back to Earth to fight. I was wounded terribly, and was not expected to survive.

"I took awhile to heal, and when I did, Queen Serenity sent Terra and myself into the future along with everyone else. Terra knew about all of you, and would tell me stories of your bravery as we searched for you. I knew when I got here that I was in the right place, and seeing Sailor Jupiter confirmed it."

"So you've known all this time that you were a Scout?" asked Mina.

"Since I was seven years old," said Polaris. "Terra has been retraining me." She hesitated for just a moment, then continued. "There was one other person I was supposed to find when I got here. The man who had been the Prince of Earth back in the day of Queen Serenity." She paused just a moment more, and looked at Darrien. "My twin brother."

Darrien, who had been watching Polaris in fascination, now sat bolt upright. "Brother?" he asked incredulously.

She nodded solemnly. Everyone by now was staring at her, mouth agape, excepting only Terra. "Mother and Father were afraid for our lives," she said, speaking to everyone but looking still at Darrien. "Earth was getting more and more restless, and more unhappy with the royal family. I was taken elsewhere, and we were never told about each other, for safety reasons. But when Terra told me about you, she said that you wouldn't be far from the rest of the Sailor Scouts, but she didn't know who you were. I knew as soon as I saw you."

Darrien sat back, speechless. The only sound he made was a stunted sigh that came out sounding like, "Foof."

"How did you know?" asked Mina.

Polaris shrugged. "Intuition," she said. "I don't think there's any way I can prove it to you, but if you believe the rest of my story, why should you have any difficulty believing in this?" When she received no answer, Polaris removed a long chain from around her neck. On the end of it was a small pendant, about the size of half of a quarter. Upon closer examination, Serena could see that emblazoned upon the pendant was a rose with a long stem, sticking out of the ground at an angle. Polaris proffered it to Darrien, who didn't seem to want to look at it. "Does this look familiar?" she asked softly. "Tell me, Darrien, does it?"

Darrien didn't answer. Instead, he stood and walked out of the temple, wordlessly running a hand through his hair. "Hey!" said Serena. She stood, but Polaris lightly took hold of her wrist. 

"Let him be," she said. "It's a lot to absorb." She watched him go, a sad fondness filling her eyes. "I'll talk to him later." 

"I don't think you'll get the chance, Sailor Polaris," said a voice from the door. The girls turned with a gasp to see the tall redhead that Lita and Ahna had been speaking about. 

"You? What are you doing here?" demanded Lita, getting to her feet. The other girls did the same. "Get out of here, now!"

To her surprise, the man only shrugged. "Okay," he said.

Serena blinked. "Okay?"

He fixed Polaris with a look. "If she comes with me, I'll go peacefully."

Polaris gripped the staff in both hands and held it in front of her in a defensive stance. "I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me why," she snarled. "A brief explanation will suffice."

He shrugged again. "Have it your way." He vanished, and a split second later the back wall of the room was ripped outwards, sending splinters and shards flying everywhere. With a shriek, Polaris was hurled backwards out of the room by some invisible attacker, and she sprawled on her back.

"Let's get moving, Scouts!" Serena yelled.

"Right!" they answered, in unison.

"_Moon… Crystal… Power_!"

"_Mercury Star Power_!"

"_Mars Star Power_!"

"_Jupiter Star Power_!"

"_Venus Star Power_!"

One by one, each girl transformed into her respective Scout. Venus and Mercury ran out the front door, and the other three through the demolished back wall. What Mercury saw made her recoil back in shock and fear. Darrien lay unconscious by the side of the dirt path, and roaming around in front of him were three… well, as far as Mercury or Venus could tell, they were dragons. Green, scaly, at least eight feet tall and breathing fire from their snouts, they reared back on their hind legs and roared. It was a sound like an erupting volcano, and the two Scouts covered their ears. "We're going to need help!" said Venus, backing up.

Mercury looked from the dragons to Darrien, and then to Venus. "Cover me!" she said, and ran forward.

"What?" exclaimed Venus, but stood her guard. One of the dragons saw Mercury and started to rise up on its haunches. Mind racing, Venus pointed at the dragon and cried, "Venus fire _shower_!"

Her aim was perfect. It hit the dragon square on the nose, and it screamed in agony. Mercury darted around it and ran to Darrien, but before she could do anything Taliment appeared before her. "Brave of you, Sailor… Bluehair, but I'm afraid -"

Mercury didn't waste time. She backed up a few feet into the woods by the side of the path, and cried, "Mercury bubbles _blast_!"

It took her a minute to find Darrien in the fog, but when she did she draped his arm around her shoulder and, with a grunt of effort, ran toward the annihilated room with him. By the time she got there she was sweating bullets, and she rested Darrien against the wall. _Now what_? Mercury thought. 

A glass of water was sitting in the sink, and she grabbed it and threw it full force into Darrien's face. He blinked and sputtered, and cleared the water from his eyes. "Sailor Mercury? What happened?"

"Can't explain," said Mercury, looking over her shoulder. "Stay here."

"If there's trouble," said Darrien, struggling to his feet with a hand to his head (upon which, Mercury noticed, there was a fairly sizeable knot), "I should help."

Mercury sighed. "You're in no condition," she said. "Look, I don't have time to argue with you. Just stay put." With that, she leapt through the door and closed it futilely behind her. By now, Jupiter and Mars were also in front of the building, staring down the dragons. Both groups seemed unsure of how to proceed.

"Where's Sailor Polaris? What happened to her?" asked Mercury.

"She and Sailor Moon are trying to get rid of whatever's attacking her," said Jupiter. She moved quickly to stand next to Mercury. "How's Darrien?"

"He seems okay for now," said Mercury. "But he's got a nasty bump on his head. I hope 

he doesn't do anything rash."

They heard Sailor Polaris shouting from a distance, and then a gust of wind came from 

behind the building. The Scouts didn't feel it, but they heard it whistle through the trees, which were doubling over from the strain. Mixed in with the wind was a muted scream, and Venus could swear she heard someone yelling, "Not again!"

Sailors Moon and Polaris charged out from behind the building, and this was the provocation that the dragons needed. Their roars were deafening as two of them charged right for the Scouts, and the other headed directly for Sailor Polaris. Before she had time to react, he had grabbed her in his claws and was taking off on enormous, leathery wings. "Sailor Polaris!" cried Venus, and ran for the prisoner, but was tossed backward by a flick of another dragon's tail.

"Time to fight fire with fire!" Mars said. She put her hands together and intoned, "Mars… fire… _ignite_!" Swirling flames jumped from her pointed fingers and struck the flying dragon in the side of the head. The dragon turned toward them, but that was all. It did not seem in the least deterred.

Mercury bit her lip and turned toward the dragon as Jupiter and Venus madly distracted the other two. "_Shine aqua illusion_!" she shouted. A rush of frigid water surrounded the dragon's wings, freezing them, and the dragon started to fall. It dropped Polaris, who vaulted out of the way with her staff just before the huge lizard hit the ground. It lay motionless.

"Way to go, Mercury!" Sailor Moon squealed.

"Behind you!" shouted Venus.

Sailor Moon swiveled just in time to see claws rushing straight for her midsection. She jumped backward and landed on her backside, hard, and gasped as the dragon stood over her. As she covered her head with her arms, she heard Jupiter shout, "Jupiter thunder dragon!" 

The two dragons, one of electricity and one of flesh, fought each other in a bizarre, indescribable battle, the latter on the losing end. Those two being taken care of, Polaris readied herself and faced down the third one, who was in the process of flinging Mercury and Mars in a graceful arc through the air. They landed in tree branches. "Polaris cyclone _spin_!" she yelled, bringing her hands up and locking them together.

A swirling funnel shot out of the air and picked up the dragon, whirling it like a dervish. It spun around and around in a mad dance until the dragon was no more than a green blur inside of it. "Do it, Sailor Moon!" yelled Venus desperately. "I don't know how much more we can take!"

Polaris watched in astonishment. She'd heard Terra speak of the powers of the group, and so far she had not been let down. She was curious, however, as to what exactly Sailor Moon did. As she pulled out her sceptor and "activated" it at the dragons, she understood what it was about the Scouts that made them such a unique group. The leader was not the strongest member. Without the rest of the team, Sailor Moon would no doubt be in over her head. It took the group to weaken the enemy and the leader to finish them off... that was truly the only thing that set the members apart. 

Mercury and Mars extricated themselves from the tree in as dignified a manner as they could and stood where the dragons had been. (They had all three disappeared, as had the cyclone.) "Taliment sent them, I'm sure of it," said Sailor Moon absently.

"You think?" asked Mars, sarcasm steeped in her voice.

"Why do you think he wants you, Sailor Polaris?" asked Venus. 

"I don't know," Polaris responded truthfully. "But he seems to want me either unharmed or with as little damage done to me as possible. I can't imagine why."

Mercury suddenly remembered. "Sailor Moon, maybe you'd better go check on Darrien. He's inside."

She needed no further bidding. She ran inside to see Darrien watching the door anxiously, but when he saw her his face relaxed. "You're all right," he said, as if reassuring himself to the fact. 

Sailor Moon went to hug him, having to kneel down to do so. "What happened?"

"That Taliment guy ambushed me outside," Darrien explained. "Caught me totally off guard. What happened out there? It was so loud… when it got quiet I was afraid…"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Just a buncha dragons. We took care of em easy."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," said Darrien, frowning a bit. He hesitated, then got to his feet. "I should get home," he said.

"I'll walk with you," said Sailor Moon with a smile. "You never know when you might get ambushed again."

Darrien looked about to protest, but shrugged. "Have it your way, meatball-head," he said, and winked at her.


	2. Default Chapter Title

__

Disclaimer: The Scouts and their counterparts, Luna and Artemis, Darrien / Tuxedo Mask, Beryl, and Diamond? None of them belong to me, but you knew that already. However, Ahna and her alter-ego, Terra, Taliment, Haiya, Harvok, and Gehen DO belong to me. So there. If you'd like to see a picture of Ahna's alter-ego, drop me a line at OrpheusEurydice@netscape.net Enjoy!

***

"'This one will work, Empress Haiya,' that's what you said to me," said the voice. "'It's a perfect plan,' you said."

"How was I to know there would be six of them?" Taliment demanded. "I thought the three dragons would be enough to do the job!"

"Well, they weren't," said Haiya, miffed. In fact she was more than miffed, she was furious. "Did you do any research? I doubt it. There must be something about these Sailor Scouts in our database."

"With all due respect, your majesty, can't you find someone else? There must be someone who wouldn't be this much trouble to get."

"And why do you think this is causing so much trouble?" asked Haiya. "Because she's perfect. She's the one I want. All the research you and I did, all the time it took to find her, and you want to give up just because you botched two missions? We're going to get her, Taliment. One way or another, we'll get her."

Silence descended. Taliment went to the computer and sat down, sighing deeply before turning it on. He had a lot of work to do. As his fingers drifted over the controls, he considered the future.

Empress Haiya was and would be again the greatest ruler the Negaverse had ever seen. Queen Beryl had been strong, but not particularly clever, and her minions… pathetic. Prince Diamond had been intelligent, but weak and corruptible. Wise Man was definitely a persuasive speaker, there was no doubt about that, but he should not have been allowed to do as he did. Even Taliment could see that his motives were ill-founded. Take over the Earth, perhaps; destroy it, no.

But Haiya was different. Here was a girl that, while sometimes immature and selfish, knew what she wanted and knew how to pace herself. Not everything had to be done immediately; "Better late than never," that was Haiya's credo. She had the time and temper to sit down and think over her strategies - and Taliment's - before racing off into battle. He knew that in the fight against these Sailor Soldiers (or was it Scouts?), Haiya would have the upper hand.

It really was a pity that some people on their world didn't take her seriously, just because she didn't have a body.

***

Darrien collapsed into a chair, exhausted for some reason, and held the bag of ice to the bump on his head. He'd been zapped by energy forces, dropped from great distances, hurled violently from place to place, and never in his life did he think that one knock on the head could cause so much discomfort.

A rivulet of water dripped into his eye, and he swiped an arm across his forehead to dry it off. As he did so, he heard a soft scratching noise coming from the hallway, followed by a quiet voice calling, "Darrien! Let me in!"

Confused, he rose and walked to the door, his unshod feet making no noise as he crossed the floor. "Who is it?" he called.

There was no answer. Just more scratching noises. He opened the door, saw no one, turned around, went back to the chair, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Terra lying on the floor, looking just as relaxed as you please. "Hi," she said.

Darrien adjusted the ice pack. "You scared me, Terra," he said, good-natured.

"Sorry," Terra replied, and started to wash her face daintily with one paw. "You had _us_ scared this afternoon, what with being knocked out and all."

"Well, I hadn't planned on it," said Darrien, "but then again, I hadn't planned on having a bombshell like that dropped on me, either."

"Oh, yes, that must have been strange for you," said Terra sympathetically. "But imagine how Ahna felt. She was so excited to finally find you, she just had to reveal the truth."

"Why didn't I know that she even existed?" asked Darrien.

Insofar as it is possible for a cat to look perplexed, Terra did. "I don't know, exactly," she said. "I thought you had been told that you at least had a twin sister… but apparently, her existence was so well kept a secret that only I knew." Her voice was feminine, there was no doubt about that, but it was a little less refined a voice than Luna's. To Darrien, Terra sounded a bit like Emma Thompson. 

Terra stood, picked something up from the floor that had been under one of her paws, and leapt onto the chair with the thing in her mouth. She dropped it into Darrien's hand, and he examined it. It was the pendant that Ahna - or, Sailor Polaris had shown him earlier. "Are you absolutely sure you don't recognize that?" asked Terra, looking at him appraisingly. "Totally and completely sure?"

Darrien hesitated just a split second before answering, "I don't recognize it."

Terra lay on the arm of the chair with her head on her paws, leaving Darrien to absently scratch her behind the ears. "You're a mystery, Darrien," she said, eyes half-closed.

"Ahna's the mystery," he replied with a small smile.

There was a knock on the door. Darrien stood and picked up Terra, having a feeling he knew who it was. Sure enough, when he opened it, he saw Ahna standing before him. "Oh, Terra," she sighed, taking the cat. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."

There was an awkward silence. "Uh, this is yours," said Darrien, handing her the pendant. Ahna looked at it in surprise. 

"Terra," she said warningly.

"I know, I know," said Terra quietly.

"Well, thanks for returning it," said Ahna. "I just came down here to ask you to help me look for Terra, but she's right here, so… g'night."

"Good night," said Darrien. For a minute they just stood there, looking at the floor, neither saying anything. Finally, Darrien broke the silence. "Look, do you think you're in danger?"

Ahna looked at him quizzically. "Danger? Probably I am."

"Because, well, this Taliment guy knows who you are, and he can probably find out where you live with no trouble."

"Right…" said Ahna.

"So maybe it would be safer if you stayed with someone else tonight," said Darrien. "Just in case."

Ahna checked her watch skeptically. "It's awfully late, Darrien. I wouldn't want to barge in on Amy or Serena or anyone. Or even you. Thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself." She suddenly winced and put a hand to her head. "Have you got any aspirin? I've got a terrific headache."

"Yeah," said Darrien, "come on in." 

She walked into the front hallway and hesitated there, setting Terra down on the floor. Darrien disappeared into the kitchen, then came back with two tablets and a glass of water. "Thanks," said Ahna, downing the aspirin. "I appreciate it." She smiled quickly. "G'night."

She opened the door and, picking up Terra, slipped out.

She took the elevator up the two floors, neither of them saying anything. Ahna looked lost in thought, and Terra didn't speak because there was someone else in the elevator with them - an old woman who had pressed the button for the fifteenth floor. The double doors slid open, and Ahna left with a nod to the old woman. 

As soon as she walked through her door she knew something was wrong. She was about to turn back around and leave, but the door slammed shut and she felt someone grab her arm. "Time to go, Ahna," said a soft, familiar voice, and then her eyes went fuzzy. The last thing she heard before blacking out was the voice saying, "That was certainly easier than I expected."

Darrien was standing out on the balcony, the ice pack discarded in the sink (though his head still hurt a heck of a lot) when his vision blurred and he suddenly felt lightheaded. A quiet voice sounded in his head, saying, _Time to go, Ahna_…

He ran through the door, ignoring the pain in his head, and ran up the two flights of stairs to Ahna's floor. When he got to her apartment, he pounded on the door. "Ahna! Ahna!" No answer. Frustrated, he ran back down the stairs and into his apartment, and dialled Serena's number. When she answered, groggy and disoriented, he barked, "Serena, Ahna's gone."

She was suddenly alert. "Gone? Gone where? Is she in trouble?"

"I think so," said Darrien. He related the story as quickly as he could.

"I'll call the… _yawn_… other Scouts, tell them to meet us as fast as they can. We'll find her," Serena said. "Luna, start raising the Scouts on the communicators."

Darrien heard Luna's voice say, "Right," and then Serena said, "I'll see you in a few minutes." She hung up.

They met in the middle of the park (the same one where Lita and Ahna had been attacked), somewhat bleary-eyed but ready for action. Artemis jumped into a low-hanging tree branch and addressed Darrien. "Do you have any idea where she is?"

He shook his head. "No," he said. "But I think it's nearby."

"How?" asked Luna.

"I can sense her," said Darrien. "I feel this connection to her… probably because she's my twin." He reached into his pocket and felt the object there; its slight weight was comforting.

Sailor Mercury touched her earring and the blue visor spread across her eyes. "I'm getting no readings," she said, "but maybe if we start looking I can gather some information."

"The woods," said Darrien, and everyone looked at him. He was confused, as the image had been fleeting, but he looked at the Scouts as if he knew what he was talking about. "I just got an image of lots of trees… she's in the woods, somewhere. Let's go in that direction." Abruptly, he started walking.

"But Darrien," Mars protested, "there are lots of woods around here. How can we search them all in one night? Shouldn't we split up or something?"

It was Jupiter who answered. "If we find Taliment, it would be better to face him as a team. He's already proven that he has the element of surprise on his side, and if he has Ahna, that's one less fighting with us. He's a formidable enemy, and if we face him at all, it should be all of us."

"Besides," said Venus, "if Darrien has some connection to Ahna, he might be able to lead us to her. It's worth a try, don't you think?"

Mars nodded. "What are we waiting for?" she asked, and struck out after Darrien, who hadn't stopped walking. The rest of the Scouts hurried to catch up.

They continued for what seemed like hours, talking little. The only sounds were their feet on the grass and the quiet beepings of Mercury's computer. At one point, she stopped, frowned, turned to the right, and pointed. "She's this way," Mercury said. "Through that forest there."

So, on they pressed. It was oppressively dark in the forest, so much so that Mars couldn't see a hand in front of her face. "Hang on, you guys," she said, and hunkered down. Her hand wandered around the ground, fingers searching for something, "looking" through the underbrush. She came up with a long, thick branch, with several leaves on the end, and she set fire to the leaves to create a makeshift torch. It provided just the right amount of illumination, and they continued. 

"Good job, Sailor Mars," Venus murmured.

"Just don't set the woods on fire," Sailor Moon advised.

"I'll try," said Mars sarcastically. She handed the torch to Darrien, who took it with a wordless frown. "You're our fearless leader," said Mars. "You light the way."

He shrugged and kept walking. After a few minutes, they came to a clearing, with nothing in it but a run-down old shack. "Which way do we go now?" asked Sailor Moon, looking from Mercury to Darrien.

"She's right here," said Darrien softly, at the same time Mercury said, "That way," and pointed to the left.

"Ahh…" said Sailor Moon, not knowing who to go with.

For a full minute, no one said or did anything. The torch had almost burned itself down to Darrien's fist, and soon it would be reduced to nothing but embers. In the clearing, the moonlight was bright enough to see by, so Darrien dropped the stick on the ground and stomped out the burning coal with his heel. He took two steps forward and disappeared.

"Darrien!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. She ran to where Darrien had been and stopped at the edge of a hole. "Darrien!"

"I'm okay!" said a voice from the hole. "Come down here! But be careful!"

Sailor Moon backed up, suddenly afraid. "You go, Mars."

"Fine, ya big baby," said Mars, teasing playfully. She jumped down the hole, followed by Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, the cats, and finally Sailor Moon.

She fell down a short passageway and landed in a crouch on a metal floor. "Wow," she said when she stood up. "What is this place?"

They were in a long metal corridor with high ceilings and small round lights set into the walls. They glowed just enough to light the way. There was a set of double doors to the right, and another set to the left, and that was it. "Some kind of secret passageway," said Venus.

"Mm," said Tuxedo Mask (for Darrien had "transformed" as he landed, sensing danger ahead), distracted. "I think it's something more than that. Come on, we have to find Ahna." He tried both sets of doors, and both were locked.

"Oh, great," said Sailor Moon.

"That's not a problem," said Mars. "A locked door's never stopped me. _Mars_… _fire_…" 

"Wait!" exclaimed Mercury. They all looked at her. "We don't want to call undue attention to ourselves. If Ahna is nearby, then logic dictates that Taliment must be nearby, too. If we just blow the door up, we might be walking into our own defeat. Is there some…quieter way to open the door?"

They all considered as Mercury continued to fiddle away at her computer. "Anyone got a hairpin?" asked Sailor Moon. "They do that in the movies all the time."

"No," said the Scouts (and, absurdly, Tuxedo Mask) in chorus.

"Which door should we try first, Sailor Mercury?" asked Venus.

"I'm having trouble getting exact readings," said Mercury. "The walls must be made of a substance that doesn't lend itself to being scanned. I can detect one lifeform behind that door," pointing to the right, "and two more behind that one," pointing to the left. "And there's some strange energy form behind the right door, but I can't tell what kind it is."

Tuxedo Mask leaned over to examine the door. There were no keyholes; instead, above the doorhandle, there was a small, thin, rectangular slot. With a shrug, he backed up and threw a rose at the door. His aim was perfect; the stem of the rose went right into the slot and stuck there. There was a short sizzling sound and a click. "I think that should do it," he said doubtfully.

"Good job, Tuxedo Mask," Venus murmured. "Who first?"

"I'll go," said Jupiter immediately. "I can handle Taliment, if that's him in there." She turned the handle and gently swung the door inward, striking a defensive posture and then zipping through the door. The rest of the Scouts ran through and stopped short.

They were in a huge metal room, long and wide and very bright. The circular lights were in the floor this time as well as the walls, and there were two large ones in the ceiling. Instruments and control panels lined the walls, looking more like hulking monstrosities for torture than scientific machines. And lying on the table in the middle of the room was Ahna, strapped down, unconscious. Terra was in a cage under the table, and when she saw the Scouts her face lit up. "Thank goodness you're here!" she exclaimed. 

Jupiter opened the cage and then straightened up to look at Ahna. Her ankles and wrists were in iron clamps that were padlocked shut. There were three leather straps across her legs and stomach, and a leather band across her forehead. She was anchored to the table pretty securely, and the Scouts got to work on setting her free. "What do they want with her?" asked Sailor Moon.

"I don't know," said Terra. "Taliment was talking about preparing her for some type of experiment, but I don't know what it entails."

Venus and Jupiter untied the last strap. Tuxedo Mask did away with the padlocks the same way he'd taken care of the lock on the outside of the door. "Ahna," he said, shaking her, "wake up!"

Her eyelids fluttered and she sat up, putting a hand to the back of her head. "Ohhhh," she groaned. "My head… say, where am I? What happened?"

"We don't know exactly," said Luna. "But we've got to get out of here."

Ahna shook her head and winced. "If we leave they'll only catch me again. We've got to get rid of Taliment and… well, whoever that is. That voice. Hang on a second. _Polaris star power_!"

Polaris grabbed her staff, looked at the Scouts, and yelled, "Come on! Let's get em!"

"Right!" said the Scouts, and ran after her into the hallway. Once there, Polaris raised one booted foot and tried unsuccessfully to kick the door in.

"Ouch!" she cried, grabbing her foot. "Crud!"

"I'll get it," said Jupiter. She looked at Mercury, who nodded gamely. "Jupiter… thunder… _crash_!"

The door exploded. 

When the smoke and debris cleared, they ran into a room that was just as large as the one they'd just been in. Most of the back wall of this room was taken up by a moniter, under which was an enormous control panel. The rest of the room was empty. There was a painting of an unfamiliar woman on the side wall, which, though small, seemed to dominate the room.

In the middle of the room sat Taliment, looking rather bewildered. He stared unblinking at the Scouts, his mouth open in a round O of surprise. "Who did that?" he asked, pointing at the door.

The Scouts, not expecting this, looked back in confusion. "I did," Jupiter finally answered.

Taliment nodded. "Nice," he said.

"Thanks," replied Jupiter.

Polaris moved forward, her staff clutched in her fists. "Why?" she asked, still a bit woozy from her head injury, not to mention what she'd done to her leg. "Why do you want me?"

Taliment didn't answer. Mercury said, "You guys, we should be careful. That strange energy formation is still in here. It could be that voice you said you heard."

Polaris ignored her. Unhesitating, she walked up to Taliment, who rose to meet her. "Answer me, Taliment," she said, and her voice was weary as she leaned on her staff. "What do you want with me?"

He looked about to answer when someone cut him off. "I need your body," said a familiar voice. 

Venus and Mercury looked around in confusion. Polaris looked stunned. "I beg your pardon?" she asked softly.

Slowly and unnecessarily distictly, the voice answered, "I need your body. I haven't got one of my own, you see, and after years of searching I've found you."

"But why me?" asked Polaris in confusion. And then, almost as an afterthought, "And what happened to your body?"

"It was stolen from me!" shouted the voice, suddenly enraged. "My own body, stolen away like a piece of property! They left me with nothing but my mind, my voice… and I can't get it back…" Her voice trailed off, and when it spoke again, it was sad and weary. "I've been searching for a proper replacement for years, and I found you, Sailor Polaris. I'd had no idea you'd turn out to be so powerful, but you see, you are the only one suitable for the task."

"Can you tell me why?"

"I don't know why," said the voice, and it sounded frustrated. "I only know that once I found you, I knew you had to be the one."

Polaris bit her lip and leaned on her staff, staring at the floor. For a long moment, there was no sound in the room, and any sense of danger was gone. Finally, she looked up. "Who was it that stole your body?"

"Two military leaders who led a coup against me. They wanted to usurp the throne, to get me out, because I wasn't doing things fast enough for their liking. They built a powerful weapon that they thought would destroy me, but with my counterattack all it did was separate my mind and my body, rendering me less powerful. And now I can't reclaim my power, as I can't reclaim my body. They have by now perfected the weapon, and if I come back, they will destroy me for good."

"So these guys still have your body?" asked Venus, intrigued.

"It's frozen," explained the voice. "They're keeping it as an incentive for me to return so they can be rid of me once and for all. After the… separation, I enlisted Taliment's help to find myself a replacement. He was always my most faithful supporter." A hint of a smile came into the voice, and Taliment looked in its direction.

"Let us help you," said Polaris. 

"No," said the voice immediately. 

"Why not?" asked Jupiter "You've seen how powerful we are. With all seven of us, and you and Taliment, we can beat these jerks and get your body back."

"Empress Haiya," said Taliment, "they have displayed an admirable strength."

"Wait, wait just a minute," said Mars, waving her arms. "Sailor Polaris, may I speak with you for a minute outside, please?" Polaris shrugged and followed her. Once they were outside, Mars exclaimed, "Help them? Are you out of your mind?"

"Not at all," said Polaris easily, not taking offense. "I feel very sorry for Empress Haiya. As I thought you would be, Sailor Mars."

"Yeah, pitying her is one thing, trusting her and that guy Taliment is another. I trust them about as far as I can throw them," said Mars snidely. "What makes you think that they won't turn on us the second Haiya gets her body back?"

"She might do that," said Polaris casually. "But I have no way of knowing it, and neither do you. I'm surprised at you."

"Surprised at me!" said Mars incredulously. "Well, what do you expect? They destroyed my temple, attacked my friends, and almost killed your brother!"

"Doesn't matter," said Polaris with a shrug. "Your temple can be rebuilt, the Scouts are fine, and Darrien may have a headache for awhile, but he is likewise fine. Look," she said, taking Mars' hand and looking at her earnestly, "we're Sailor Scouts. We're supposed to help people, that's part of our mission."

"She didn't ask for our help," said Mars stubbornly, but it was clear she was starting to give in.

"Hardly any of the people we help actually come to us and ask us for that help," Polaris pointed out. 

Mercury poked her head out the door. "Come on, you guys," she urged. "What are you talking about out here?"

"Nothing," said Mars quickly. She looked at Polaris and smiled. "I guess you're right." 

"Of course I am," said Polaris gently. They both nodded to Mercury and ran back inside.

"Okay," said Mars, "so when do we get started?"

"Now!" said Jupiter enthusiastically. "We need to get the Empress' body back, the sooner the better!"

The look on Taliment's face had transformed from a look of hardened hate to an amazed half-smile. "We should leave immediately, if that's the-"

"I still haven't said I want you to help me," said Haiya quietly. "I don't trust you. You seem to forget that we began as enemies and will remain that way."

"We're willing to change," Venus pointed out. "Why aren't you?"

Haiya didn't answer. "I believe them, Empress," said Taliment. "If they are willing to trust us, perhaps we should be willing to trust them."

No answer.

"Fine," shrugged Jupiter. "Then we'll do it without your help. C'mon, Taliment, where do we need to go?"

The half-smile widened into a full-blown grin. "Find something to hang onto," Taliment answered.

The Scouts sat on the floor, Tuxedo Mask did the same, each of them gripping an instrument panel as best they could. Sailor Moon held onto Luna, Venus grabbed Artemis, and Polaris held Terra. Taliment sat at the controls and started plugging in commands, and all of a sudden the floor beneath them began to shake as the ship freed itself from its earthly confines and rose into the air. 

After the fairly shaky start, the ride smoothed out and Haiya's ship sailed through the stars. The Scouts were free to roam about and explore, but Polaris stayed in one place – the room where she had been imprisoned. It was funny… she had no idea how long she'd been hooked up to these machines. She didn't know what they were supposed to do – whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. How had Taliment and Empress Haiya been planning to replace Polaris' consciousness with Haiya's? And what would have happened to Polaris' consciousness after all of it? Would it have ended up floating free, like Haiya's?

"No use speculating," she muttered softly.

"Speculating on what?" asked a voice from behind her.

Polaris whirled. Behind her stood Tuxedo Mask, minus hat and mask. He looked like a gentlemen dressed up to go to the opera, a small smile on his face. "Oh, nothing," she said, leaning against the metal medical table. There was a long pause. "You still don't believe me, do you?" she asked.

"Actually, yes, I do," said Darrien, looking at the ground. "I've believed you all along, I just… couldn't absorb it. May I see that necklace again?"

With a quizzical look, Polaris removed the chain from around her neck and handed it to Darrien, who reached into his pocket. From it he withdrew an identical chain with an almost identical pendant attached to the end. "I've had this for as long as I can remember," he said quietly, "and I never knew what it was for. It led me to you. I felt it had to be half of something important, but… ouch!" He dropped both halves suddenly to the ground. 

"What?" asked Polaris.

"They got hot," said Darrien, and looked at the pieces on the floor. They started to glow with a fierce intensity, turning into red-hot blazing pieces of metal. An unearthly white light surrounded them, growing into a whirling supernova of brilliance. A high, keening sound filled the room as the tiny cyclone in the middle of it grew faster and faster, and though the light was blinding neither Polaris nor Darrien could take their eyes away. 

"What's going on?" whispered Polaris.

"I don't know," said Darrien.

All at once the cyclone stopped, and two quarter-sized pendants on gold chains dropped from its center onto the ground. A small tendril of smoke rose from each one, and Polaris stooped to pick them up. "They've joined. And doubled." She gave one of them to Darrien with a trembling hand, and he turned it over and looked at the back.

"There's an inscription," he said. "To Ahna and Darrien; May you find each other again."

Polaris swallowed heavily, and then Haiya's voice spoke, startling them both badly. Her voice was almost sullen. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but we're about to land. I suggest you hold onto something again."

Both Polaris and Darrien sat on the floor and gripped one of the anchored metal table legs. A moment later there was a loud thud, and the ground shook beneath them. Then, silence. The hum of the engines cut off, the shaking ceased, and there was quiet.

Polaris stood and Taliment came into the room. The cats and the rest of the Scouts followed. "We've been detected by their radar," he said. "Guards will no doubt be coming here within a matter of minutes take us to the palace, where we will probably be interrogated as to our presence here."

"Do we fight?" asked Jupiter almost eagerly.

"No," said Taliment almost immediately. Then he reconsidered. "Only if we have to. But once they know that we're after the Empress' body, we can't fight unless we know we can get it. They'll destroy it if they think we stand the slightest chance of being defeated."

"This'll be tough," said Venus unnecessarily.

"We have a bigger problem facing us," said Taliment. "Once we get the Empress' body unfrozen, we have to get back here quickly. We won't have much time before it starts to… decay. We have to bring her back to life almost immediately. I can transport myself and the Empress, but the body will be a problem."

"Don't worry," said Artemis. "We'll get her back here."

Taliment nodded, and suddenly there were voices in the corridor. "I think I heard voices this way!"

"We're here!" Taliment called. Under his breath, he whispered, "Empress, I suggest you remain quiet."

"Good plan," whispered Haiya. Seconds later, three armed men and two armed women ran through the door of the room, and they pointed their weapons at the group.

"You're coming with us!" yelled one of the women.

"Okay," said Taliment.

She blinked. "Okay?"

"Fine," said Taliment. "We won't fight, will we?" The Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, and even the cats shook their heads.

"Oh, well, that's all right then," said one of the men. "Follow us, please."

They made their way over somewhat rocky terrain toward a large, white building. The guards announced their presence, and led the group through a long, twisting maze of corridors to a huge, high-ceilinged room. In the middle of the room on a raised platform sat two men, both tall, imposing, white-haired. "Who are they?" asked Sailor Venus under her breath.

"They're the ones who usurped the throne," whispered Taliment in her ear. "The one on the left, that's Gehen, and the one on the right is Harvok."

Harvok stood. "Well, what have we here?" he asked in an amused tone. His voice was loud, booming, and jovial. He was a handsome man, more slightly built than his compatriot, with a pointed nose and sharp blue eyes that gleamed with ruthlessness and fierce intelligence. "Introduce yourselves, why don't you?"

"My name is Tentife, sir," said Taliment. "My friends and I have traveled far from a war-torn world, and we seek a peaceful place to live."

"You have come to the right place," said Harvok, smiling. Gehen, for his part, said nothing, only looked at Taliment with something that was very like suspicion. He was larger than Harvok in build and height, but his eyes held the same keen glare. "There is no disorder here," Harvok continued. He looked at the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask, and his eyes narrowed. "Who are these?"

"Travelers like myself," said Taliment grandly.

Gehen finally spoke. "You seem very familiar to me," he said softly.

Neither Taliment nor Harvok made answer; the latter circled the group with an appraising smile. "You and your friends will be quite comfortable here. I apologize for your rather rude greeting, the guards have very few people skills." He looked at the guards, who were still standing in the corner, and they shuffled their feet in embarrassment. For a moment, his eyes lingered on Sailor Mars, who looked back in a mixture of discomfort and pride.

Gehen stood quickly, lept off the platform, and marched over to the group. He reached down and picked up Artemis, who looked badly startled and mewed indignantly. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, pointing to the crescent moon on the cat's head. "Harvok!"

Harvok looked away from Mars and focused on Artemis, and his blue eyes blazed. "The symbol of the moon kingdom! The symbol of our sworn enemies!"

Gehen looked at Taliment again. "I recognize you. You worked for Empress Haiya. Taliment, was it?" He snorted. "Travelers, indeed. No doubt you've come to reclaim her body. We knew it was just a matter of time. Guards!" The guards ran hurriedly to their position, smiling just as eagerly as you please. "Take these prisoners to Cellblock eight and lock them up tight. The felines, too."

"Yes, sir," said the guards in chorus. 

The group started away, a trifle nervously, but Mars was restrained by Harvok's hand on her shoulder. "Wait," he said. "You stay here."

"Sailor Mars!" said Venus in alarm.

"Don't worry about me, guys," she said. "I can take care of myself."

"Do we fight now?" asked Jupiter softly as they walked along the corridor that led out of the room.

"Best to wait until we have an advantage," whispered Taliment.

"And when will that be?"

"Not sure."

They walked for what seemed like a very long time, walking through an endless labyrinth of hallways that all looked exactly the same. Jupiter became fairly dizzy from turning so many corners so fast. Finally they were led into a large, seemingly empty room, containing only slightly raised metal squares on the floor that measured about six feet by six feet. As each Scout, Tuxedo Mask, Terra and Artemis (Luna, Jupiter noticed, was missing, but she said nothing) was thrust into one, a translucent yellow wall flew up on all four sides from the squares. The guards smiled triumphantly and left.

"Where's Luna?" asked Artemis, worried.

"She probably slipped away from the guards," said Taliment. He reached out and touched one of the shimmering yellow walls in front of him; he received a nasty shock and the wall flickered briefly and then went back to normal. "How do you suppose we get out of these cells?"

"I'm working on it," said Mercury, and started fiddling with her computer. "It looks like the power for these forceshields is being controlled by that generator over there." She pointed to a black box anchored to the wall. It was about eight inches by eight inches, with thin black poles running out of it along the walls to the squares. "If we could somehow destroy it or get it off the wall, the forceshields would probably shut off."

"But how are we gonna do that?" asked Sailor Moon. "Since none of us can get through these shield thingies, what if our attacks can't, either?"

"Good thinking, Sailor Moon," said Mercury.

"Really?"

"Yes," said Artemis. "You're using your head." Sailor Moon beamed.

"I'm looking for a flaw in the energy pattern," said Mercury. "If I find one, we may be able to manipulate it to our advantage."

"What do you think he wanted with Sailor Mars?" asked Venus worriedly.

"Whatever it was," said Taliment, "we must find her as soon as we are out of here. She is crucial to our plan."

"Why?" asked Sailor Moon.

"Empress Haiya's body is frozen, Sailor Moon," said Taliment. Everyone looked at him with a growing dread. "I suggest, Sailor Mercury, that you work as fast as you can," said Taliment.


	3. Default Chapter Title

__

Disclaimer: The Scouts and their counterparts, Luna and Artemis, Darrien / Tuxedo Mask, Beryl, and Diamond? None of them belong to me, but you knew that already. However, Ahna and her alter-ego, Terra, Taliment, Haiya, Harvok, and Gehen DO belong to me. So there. If you'd like to see a picture of Ahna's alter-ego, drop me a line at OrpheusEurydice@netscape.net Enjoy!

***

Mars stood on the platform, looking around uncomfortably. Gehen was watching her in disgust, but Harvok was smiling. "Although you are one of my mortal enemies," he was saying, "you _are_ quite lovely."

"Thank you," said Mars.

"You could make quite a nice edition to this palace. I might let you and the rest of your friends live if you help me," said Harvok. Mars said nothing. "I know you work for the Empress," he continued. "Tell me how I can find her, and I'll let you all go free. It's as simple as that."

"And if I won't?" said Mars archly.

"Then your friends will die first thing tomorrow," said Harvok, "and you shall watch them. Afterwards… well, I'd hate to have to destroy such a beautiful thing as you. You, my lovely friend, shall join the Empress, frozen for all eternity so I may enjoy you."

Mars blinked. "I don't understand," she lied.

Harvok's smile widened as he took her arm again. He led her away from the platform to a door set in the far right wall of the room, which he opened and took her through. It opened into a large room with a shiny floor, black as obsidian. Sitting in its center was the body of Empress Haiya, frozen in a long, rectangular block of ice. Her eyes were wide open in an expression of dead horror. Sailor Mars gasped and looked away. "So," whispered Harvok into her ear, "what do you say?"

She looked back up and forced herself to look at the ice. "No." She noticed a long black pipe that led from the ceiling to the surface of the ice, and wondered what it was, but decided not to ask.

"I'll let you think about your answer," said Harvok, dismissing her negation. With startling violence, he threw her up against the wall and pinned her arms above her head, and fastened them there with a beam of energy that came from a small black box right next to Mars' wrists. There was a similar box next to her ankles that bound them to the wall as well. "I'll be back for you shortly." With that he left.

Mars struggled in vain against her bindings. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself.

"Stay calm," said a familiar voice.

Mars looked around. "Luna?"

"I'm right here," said Luna from a shadow in the corner. "I'm lucky he didn't see me when I doubled back. I'll find a way for you to get out, don't worry."

"I don't believe it," said another voice, this one hushed and somewhat angry. 

"Empress?" asked Mars.

"He has me displayed here like… like a trophy!" Her voice had gone from somewhat angry to enraged. "I wonder how many times a day he comes in here to gawk at me." She paused, and when she spoke again her voice was more controlled. "I'll see what I can do to help," she said.

***

"I've found something," said Mercury. Everyone looked at her. "Sailor Venus, there is a flaw in the top right-hand corner of your cell. It's a hole about three inches in diameter where the energy is weakest. If you aim correctly, you may be able to disable the generator."

"Oh, man," said Venus. "I'll try." She studied the corner intently, backed up, took aim and intoned, "Venus love chain _encircle_!"

The chain shot through the hole and wrapped itself around the box, and Venus gave it a firm tug. At first it looked like it was firmly fixed in place, but as Venus pulled harder it wrenched free and the glowing walls collapsed. Venus let go of the chain and tumbled backwards, but Jupiter caught her and lifted her into a huge hug. "You did it!"

Venus smiled shyly. "Oh, well, it was nothing."

"Good work, Sailor Venus," said Artemis. "Now, how are we going to get out of here? Do any of you know how to get back to where we were?"

"If you Scouts can dispatch with the guards outside," said Taliment, "we should be able to get into the crawlspace in the ceiling. I know my way from there."

"No problem," said Jupiter with a smile.

"Don't hurt them too badly," said Taliment warningly. "We don't want to have even more guards on our hands."

"Sailor Mercury?" said Terra, looking at her.

"You've got it," said Mercury. 

Taliment strolled to the door and threw it open. The guards peered in, confused, and when they saw the group standing there they charged forward. "How did you-"

"Mercury bubbles _blast_!"

The Scouts slipped through the fog and Taliment took out one of the ceiling panels in the hallway outside. They climbed up into the space and put the panel back, and started crawling. "This may take awhile," whispered Taliment. "We're far from the throne room."

"We need to get there as fast as we can," said Sailor Moon softly. "Sailor Mars may be in trouble."

"I heartily agree," said Taliment, and began to crawl faster. 

Terra mewed softly. "I was paying good attention as we were walking. Artemis and I can fit better through this space – we can get there faster. Come on, Artemis. We'll meet you all there." With that, the cats took off running through the crawlspace.

Taliment was right – it took what seemed like a very long time to get to where they were going. Once they did, they peered through a crack in the ceiling at the throne room. Harvok and Gehen were still sitting there, talking quietly enough so that the Scouts couldn't hear what they were saying. All of a sudden, Taliment felt a cold nose touch his, and he gasped, startled. 

It was Terra. "Sorry," she said. "We've found Mars and the Empress. Keep going, just a little farther." She led them to a spot where the ceiling panel had been removed already ("Hard to do without thumbs," Terra admitted, but there was a hint of pride in her voice).

"Now the question is, how do we get down?" asked Taliment. "The ceiling is too high for us to jump."

Polaris made her way forward, slithering on her belly, and fell through the hole. Just before she landed she used her staff to vault gently to the ground. Tuxedo Mask elongated his cane and did the same. "Jump!" they called softly. "We'll catch you!"

Everyone froze. "Anyone… want to go first?" asked Sailor Moon nervously.

Jupiter shrugged. "Sure," she said, and slipped through the hole. Tuxedo Mask caught her easily. "Thanks!" she said.

"Do you mind, Jupiter?" asked Sailor Moon hotly.

"Sorry," said Jupiter sheepishly, and allowed herself to be put down.

Soon enough, all the Scouts were down (and the cats too, which was a little more difficult to accomplish). "Uh, you guys," said Mars a trifle impatiently, "it's sure nice to see all of you, but could you get me out of here?"

"Sorry," said Venus. She was about to launch her attack again, but Polaris restrained her.

"No, Sailor Venus," she said. "It might make too much noise and alert Gehen and Harvok that we're here."

The Scouts studied each other for a minute, and then looked at Tuxedo Mask. "Well," said Jupiter jovially, "it certainly seems to be your day for this kind of thing."

Tuxedo Mask shrugged and took out the boxes with roses. Mars crashed to her knees as her bonds disappeared, and she immediately began to shake her hands vigorously. "All the blood drained out of them," she explained, standing up.

"Now what, Taliment?" asked Venus. There was no answer. The Scouts turned to see the red-haired man standing by the block of ice in the center of the room and staring at it. He suddenly looked very small and sad.

"This is her," he said. "Isn't she lovely?"

After a moment, Mercury stepped forward and peered down into the ice. "Yes, she is," she said. She put her hand on the ice and frowned. "This is covered with glass." Her eyes followed the pipe to the ceiling. "This probably keeps it from melting. Ingenius."

"Mercury!" exclaimed Sailor Moon.

Mercury colored a bit. "I meant it was an intriguing design. I'm not condoning anything." 

"Should we do it?" asked Polaris. "We don't want to linger in here. Who knows when Harvok and Gehen could come in here?"

"Anytime," said a voice from the doorway.

The Scouts whirled. Harvok and Gehen stood just inside the door, the former holding a formidable looking weapon in his hands. "I suppose, Sailor Mars, that you haven't reconsidered?" asked Harvok.

"No," said Mars.

"Very well," said Harvok, and fired the weapon at the Scout standing closest, which was Venus. She jumped out of the way and the beam of blue energy it shot out smashed against the wall, sending out chunks of debris and a puff of dust. Not put off, Harvok fired again, this time at Polaris. She tried to avoid it, but the beam clipped her arm and she fell to the ground.

"Sailor Polaris!" exclaimed Sailor Moon in alarm.

"Don't mind me!" Polaris said through clenched teeth. She clutched her arm and hissed in pain, her face pale and strained.

Harvok pointed the weapon at her again, but all of a sudden his face took on a look of almost comical surprise. He flailed his arms around and dropped the weapon, where it clattered to the ground. "What's happening?" he roared.

Haiya's voice sounded, growing from a yell of indignace to a shriek of fury. "You… stole… my… _body_!"

Gehen grabbed the weapon from the floor and fumbled with it clumsily for a minute. Polaris skittered out of the way, blood seeping through her fingers onto the floor and staining her gloves a bright crimson. Jupiter seized the moment. "Jupiter thunderclap _zap_!" The electricity shot through the air and knocked the weapon, sizzling, from Gehen's hands.

Tuxedo Mask knelt beside his sister. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Just get the Empress."

"You're losing a lot of blood," he said in concern. 

"I told you I was fine," said Polaris, staggering to her feet. With a scream of effort and pain, she threw her staff like a javelin at the glass case that had been serving as the Empress' casket for many years. The glass shattered and fell over the floor. "Do it, Sailor Mars! We have to do this fast!"

Mars faced the casket and intoned, "Mars… celestial… fire… _surround_!" At the same time, Gehen, finding himself without defenses, lunged at Tuxedo Mask. The two began to tussle, the latter on the losing end. Seeing a marvelous opportunity, Jupiter joined in the fracas, and soon the situation was reversed.

A gush of water rushed from the center of the room, soaking everyone's feet in a freezing tide. The room was suddenly half-filled with steam, and the Empress' body lay unprotected and soaking in its middle. Taliment picked it up and yelled, "We have to get out of here quickly! We haven't much time before we lose the chance to save her!"

"Take the Empress," said Sailor Moon. "We'll get her body back to the ship!" She took the body from him and put it gently on the floor, and grabbed Venus' hand. "We have to teleport. Luna, Artemis, Terra! Let's move!"

Taliment disappeared, and freed from his attacker, Harvok grabbed the weapon, and then Polaris. He pointed the weapon at Polaris' temple and said, "I advise you not to move, young woman. Or the rest of you."

"Sailor Polaris!" cried Mercury, half turning around.

"Go!" she shouted. "I can take care of myself."

"We won't leave you!" exclaimed Venus.

"You have no choice!"

Tuxedo Mask whipped his head around. "Get moving! I'll stay with her and we'll get back to the ship as soon as we can!"

Sailor Moon nodded reluctantly, tears in her eyes. The Scouts positioned themselves around Haiya's body and teleported away.

After they had gone, Tuxedo Mask turned to Harvok and Gehen. "Let her go," he said softly. "You can take me instead, but let her free."

"I have no intention of releasing her until someone brings back Empress Haiya's body," said Harvok. "So it seems that we are at an impasse. What do you plan to do?"

"This!" said Polaris, and bucked her hips backward, knocking Harvok momentarily off balance. The weapon fired and hit the ceiling, causing a cascade of more debris. Polaris and Tuxedo Mask faced Harvok and Gehen, nobody moving. "Oh, forget it," sighed Harvok, and fired at Polaris.

She dodged, but the beam hit her shoulder this time and she fell to the ground. "Darrien," she gasped. "Brother… help me…"

Tuxedo Mask removed his mask and knelt behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Polaris… cyclone… spin!" she called weakly, and brought her hands together.

For a moment, nothing happened. But as a slow smile spread across Harvok's triumphant face, a soft breeze blew through the room and Darrien felt a pulsing heat suddenly begin near his heart. In confusion, he brought the rose pendant out from under his shirt, and saw that it was glowing with an unearthly radiance. Polaris collapsed backwards into Darrien's arms, and he saw that she was beginning to glow, too. The aura engulfed both of them.

A cyclone rose in front of Harvok and Gehen, and it grew. As Darrien and Polaris disappeared, consumed by the aura and transported away, it grew… and grew… and grew. They turned and started to run, but were soon sucked into the whirling vortex. The cyclone continued to grow until it was larger than any tornado this world had ever seen.

Taliment worked frantically, flipping on this machine and that in his desperate attempt to reunite the Empress' mind with her body. The Scouts stood nearby worriedly, Sailor Moon wringing her hands. "I hope they get out all right," she said.

"Don't worry, Sailor Moon," said Venus. "I know they can beat those creeps."

A buzz began to hum through the room, emanating from the large machines and contraptions that were bolted to the walls. "I think it's working," said Taliment breathlessly. "Look!"

They did. The color was slowly seeping back into Haiya's cheeks and arms, and as the Scouts, cats, and Taliment looked on, the body raised itself off the table (unlike Ahna, Haiya had not been strapped down) and righted itself to a standing position. She was surrounded by a blue glow which grew too bright to look at, and it died as soon as it had begun. The buzz of the machines stopped. There was silence.

Taliment looked at the table. Haiya was lying down again, and her eyes flew open (Taliment had closed them out of respect). Her mouth floundered for a moment, and finally one harsh, whispered word came out. "C-c-cold."

Smiling hugely, Taliment threw his arms around the Empress' neck, then remembered himself and dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty," he said reverently.

"G-g-get up," said Haiya, grinning. She was shivering violently. Taliment obeyed.

"Your Majesty," he said, and his voice caught in his throat. "You're… you're here."

"I am," said the Empress. She looked at the Scouts, and even pale, drained, and still pretty damp, she was regal, elegant, and radiantly beautiful. "I th-thank you Scouts for h-helping me reg-gain my b-b-body." Now that the voice was in a vessel, it sounded deeper and more throaty… and much older. 

"You're welcome, Your Majesty" said Mercury, and she bowed slightly from the waist. The other Scouts followed suit.

"Taliment!" The Scouts turned, and Tuxedo Mask (sans mask) ran into the room, carrying the injured Polaris. "She's hurt. Can you help her?"

Haiya jumped off the table and staggered, and Taliment supported her. "I guess I'll have to g-get used to this again," she said with a weak smile.

"What happened to her?" asked Venus, running over as Tuxedo Mask set Polaris on the table. "Will she be all right?"

"I'm no doctor," said Taliment, "but I'll see what I can do. We need to take off first, else we're all going to end up a lot like your friend here."

"I can do it," said Haiya, "if someone can assist me in getting to the control room. I've seen you fly this ship thousands of times, Taliment," she said, as if he had disputed her flying abilities, "I think I can do it."

Venus put an arm around the Empress' waist and guided her out of the room as Taliment looked over Polaris. "She's hurt pretty badly. Did she get hit by the weapon Harvok had?"

"Yes," said Tuxedo Mask. 

Venus reentered the room and approached the table hesitantly. "Tuxedo Mask," she said quietly, "the Empress is trying as hard as she can to operate the ship, but… well, she's so cold she can hardly move. Can she borrow your cape?"

He removed it without a word and handed it to her. "Thanks," said Venus gratefully, and left again.

"I'd like to ask all of you to leave," said Taliment. "I don't think I can do this with all of you standing here. But Sailor Mercury, could I ask you to remain here and act as nurse, perhaps?"

"Of course," said Mercury. The Scouts and Darrien reluctantly left.

***

Sailor Moon sat on the floor, and an exhausted Darrien sat beside her. "I hope she's okay," he mumbled, and yawned hugely.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," said Sailor Moon a trifle doubtfully. "Taliment seems… pretty sure of what he's doing." Darrien put his head in her lap and she stroked his hair comfortingly. "Don't worry. Just sleep for now."

"I don't know if I can," said Darrien, but his voice was already far distant and waning. In a matter of minutes his breathing was deep and regular.

"How is he?" asked Jupiter, hunkering down in front of them.

"Tired," said Sailor Moon. "Worried. But I guess that's okay, I mean, that's his sister in there."

"I wonder how they got away," mused Jupiter.

"Yeah, that was major weird how they just showed up like that," said Sailor Moon. "How did they get here?"

"We'll have to ask when he wakes up," said Jupiter. She patted Darrien's arm briefly and stood up. "I'd say he has the right idea. I'm so tired!"

"So am I," said Venus, entering the conversation. "But it's a good tired. I feel like we really accomplished something today."

"Well, we did," pointed out Sailor Moon. "A big something."

"I just hope Sailor Polaris is all right," said Venus. She was pacing. 

"Yes," said Luna, who was curled up beside Sailor Moon. "Not only is she a valuable asset to this group, but she's a good friend and a good person. We can only hope that she'll recover fully."

"Oh, I think I'll survive," said a voice from the doorway.

It was Polaris. She was leaning heavily on Taliment, her face was pale, and she had a large bandage binding her injured arm to her body, but her eyes were bright and she looked relatively none the worse for wear. The Scouts ran forward to hug her, all except Sailor Moon, who was shaking Darrien awake. He opened his eyes, stood, and ran to greet his sister.

"You're alive," he said.

"Yep," said Polaris with a smile. "Thanks to you and Taliment."

Darrien hugged her tightly, being mindful of her arm, and smiled at Taliment. The red-haired man grinned back, blushing a little, looking happy with himself and indeed the whole situation at hand.

Empress Haiya appeared beside the group, the look on her face difficult to read. She was looking up at Polaris (for the Scout was quite taller than the Empress), and finally she smiled. "Sailor Polaris," she said, "it's good to know you're all right."

Polaris bowed deeply, wobbling but getting assistance from Darrien and Taliment. "The same of you, Empress."

There was silence for a moment, until Sailor Moon broached a question. "So what happens to you guys now? Are you going to stay with us on Earth?"

"I must return to my world," said Haiya immediately. "Now that I have my body back, I must rally my supporters and reclaim the throne from Gehen and Harvok."

"You don't have to worry about that," said Polaris softly. She quickly explained what she could remember of the final attack, and Darrien supplemented her story as best he could. Haiya smiled.

"They got what they deserved," she said. "Even so, I must get back. My people will be without a leader… perhaps I can turn them away from an evil way of life and help them to see new ways."

"If anyone could do it, it's you," said Taliment with a smile.

Haiya turned to him, smiling a little. "As for you, Taliment… you have proven yourself most praiseworthy in this difficult situation. If not for you, I doubt that any of this would have happened. I thank you most gratefully." She bowed deeply, casting her eyes to the floor, and Taliment colored.

"Oh, your Majesty, um…"

She straightened. "This may be a bit informal, but Taliment, I ask you this: will you take your place beside me, as Emporer?"

The Scouts, pleasantly surprised, looked from Haiya (her face betraying no emotion) to Taliment (who was a personification of the word "speechless"). The latter looked as if he were struggling with words, and when he found them, they were, "Yes, of course, your Majesty."

"Yay!" exclaimed Sailor Moon, jumping into the air and thus breaking the tension. 

Taliment went to the controls, still blushing furiously, and ran a hand through his thick hair. "Um, I'm going to land us now. Hang on, everyone."

***

"Back to your land?" asked Jupiter a little wistfully.

"Yes," said Haiya, "and as quickly as possible. Who knows how soon it could erupt into chaos now that their leaders are gone?"

"Good point," said Venus, nodding. She bowed and the rest of the Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, and even the cats did the same. Taliment and Haiya returned the gesture, smiling.

"May we meet again someday," said Taliment, his fingers entwined with Haiya's. 

"I hope to," said Polaris. She and the rest turned and descended the ramp of the vessel to the ground; it closed and the ship rose slowly into the air. They stood and watched it for a few moments.

"Wow," said Mars.

"That pretty much sums it up," agreed Venus. "Wow."

Mercury yawned hugely behind her hand. "I need to get some sleep. I have a huge test on Monday…" The Scouts groaned, but then Mercury smiled with a twinkle in her eyes. "But I don't know how I'll possibly be able to sleep after something like that."

"I do," said Sailor Moon, stretching. She leaned against Darrien and yawned. "I don't think I've ever been more tired in my whole life."

"Neither have I," said Polaris.

"I'm proud of us," said Venus suddenly. Everyone looked at her. "Well, I am."

"You have every right to be," said Terra. "You all did a magnificent job."

"Here here!" exclaimed Artemis.

The Scouts all looked pleased. "Come on, guys," said Jupiter. "Let's go home."

And they did.


End file.
